The Warriors' Journey
by MountainBro
Summary: My retelling of a small section from Shingeki no Kyojin. Can be considered a prologue to most of the story. Covers the warriors' voyage to the island and their days of travel towards Wall Maria. The TV-Series has not properly caught up to this point, so consider that your spoiler warning.
1. Land

**The Warriors' Journey**

**A/N:**_ Hi everyone who's somehow clicked on this story. This is actually part of a larger retelling of the whole series I've been trying to put together for a while now. But since I've put that idea on ice at about 12 chapters in I decided to just release this, as it is a stand-alone prequel of sorts._

_I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

_**Chapter 1 – Land**_

**Year 845**

* * *

The first thing that becomes visible is a thin line of green on the horizon, clearly set apart from the ever present blue and white sky above and the reflecting ocean below. The small fleet had been on it's journey for nearly a day, blessed with clear skies and a quiet sea. Small waves rock the ships as their steam turbine powered propellers steadily push them towards their destination.

For the experienced sailors on the military escorts surrounding a seemingly small and old cargo ship at the centre of the formation this trip was neither difficult nor demanding. Their unusual destination and cargo is what has many on edge, though the hand-picked crew of the fleet knows better than to complain or ask difficult questions. Their orders come from high command, they're well compensated and in just a few short hours they would be on their way back, knowing their duty was fulfilled.

The one to spot the approaching green first is the boy that has been staring towards the horizon from the bow of the ship for the past hour. His swept back, short dark brown hair flows lightly in the cool ocean breeze as he turns around and sprints off towards the interior of the vessel.

"Hey! You guys, come look at this!" he shouts as he practically flies into the small chambers where he's shared bunks with his friends for the past nights, only to find it abandoned by everyone but a small blonde with her hair tied back, resting in the only chair in the room. Her eyes are glued to a thick book in her hands when the excited boy skids to a halt in the middle of the room. She looks up from the page she's been reading and slowly raises a single eyebrow at him and the exhilaration clearly visible in his face.

"What is it, Marcel? We're not there yet are we?" the girls asks him, her expression entirely bored compared to the giddy boy standing before her.

"Ah, no... but you can see it already!" he declared, rubbing the back of his neck.

By her unmoving expression and from knowing the girl for years Marcel can guess what the answer would be if he asked her to come up to deck so he merely gives her a wide smile.

"I'll see you later then, just don't complain about missing the view." his smile only widens as her icy blue eyes narrow at him. He throws his hands up in a mock surrender and turns around, stopping only in the doorway to look over his shoulder.

"Did you see the others by any chance? I thought they were still sleeping-"

"They were. Try the kitchen." Her eyes already back on her book, Marcel steps out of the room and turns for the small common area and kitchen. Here he finds who he's been looking for, his two targets sitting at a cramped table in the corner of the room, both chomping down on a simple loaf of bread each. The room is otherwise empty save for the cook preparing several ingredients in the tiny kitchen, likely for a stew or soup the crew would get to enjoy on their way back.

"Guys! There you are!" Marcel exclaims happily.

Two pairs of eyes look up at him, sleep still clearly visible in their faces, and he can't help but laugh.

The pair of brown eyes belonging to the blonde boy move down to the tabletop, followed shortly by his head while the tall dark haired one next to him tilts his head at Marcel in question.

"C'mon, you can eat outside, we can already see the island," he moves over to them and pats the blonde on his back "and you'll wake up properly with some fresh air around you." The groan he gets as a response only makes him laugh harder.

"Don't tell me my brother has to stay home only for you to be too tired to carry out our mission, Reiner, he'd never forgive you," Marcel teases, already heading for the door.

"As if Porco doesn't hate me already." Reiner quietly grumbles from the table.

"Aw, don't say that. He may be a grumpy ass sometimes but he cares in his own special way." Marcel retorts, although Reiner could swear there was something off in the way Marcel said it.

"Now let's go, we might already be able to see the docks." He turns quickly without looking back, knowing the two boys would likely follow.

His mouth curls up into a grin as he hears a defeated sigh and the sound of two people standing. Marcel heads outside again and breathes deeply, enjoying the smell of seawater as he does.

He turn around at the two boys joining him, both rubbing at their eyes while they're adjusting to the bright sunlight as he leans on the rusty wall behind him.

"So, Reiner, Bertholdt, how'd you sleep? You both look like shit."

"It's alright Marcel. We can deal with it." Bertholdt speaks for the first time today, his brows crunched together seriously while trying to straighten out his messy dark hair.

"Yea, it's fine." Reiner says in affirmation, eyes downcast.

"Hey," Marcel begins, shifting his gaze between the two "I know we trained hard for this, I didn't mean to berate you guys. Besides I'm sure Captain Magath will have more than enough of that before we're off on our own, if he gets up before we're there" Marcel said, giving Reiner a weak nudge to the shoulder. The two other boys couldn't help but crack a small grin.

"Now enough of that" Marcel tells them, pointing towards their now clearly visible destination, "I wanted us to see the island before we dock, it's pretty big! You can't even see the entire shoreline, just like at home."

The three move towards the bow of the ship, watching the growing hills of the island as the small fleet of ships approaches the only dock in sight. The docking area is a big concrete structure with what looks like a huge stone square right behind it. Several stairs lead up from the docks to the top of the block and Marcel realizes that this is where _Eldians_ that are sent to '_Heaven_' must end up.

Aside from a few birds in the sky, the entire region is silent, empty, almost eerily so. Even the active sea-life they saw at the start of their journey seems to avoid the island.

"It looks quiet, peaceful... deadly." Bertholdt remarks almost nervously, making Reiner shoot a quick glance at his tall friend. "It's where the devils live." Reiner says sourly. "We need to destroy that evil and restore the good name of our people everywhere. Then we'll be heroes of this world."

Marcel looks over at the blonde boy and places a hand on his shoulder, an unreadable emotion written on his face.

"We will, don't worry," he shifts his gaze back to the large island before them. "I guess the name does fit, it is a kind of paradise, just not for anything human."

The rest of the ride is spent in a solemn silence, only broken by the sounds of light chewing and the occasional deep signal horn from one of the escorts veering off. Their ship would be the only one docking here today.

The crew of the cargo ship would unload a few horses and supplies, then the four kids, their primary cargo, would be sent off on their mission deep into the island. The fleet would start their trip back across the ocean before nightfall.

The headlines back home would report that the four brave warriors had landed and would soon claim victory by defeating the devils on that cursed island.

_Paradis._


	2. Journey

**The Warriors' Journey**

**A/N:**_ Don't mind the jump in tenses from the first chapter. Guess I just changed my mind._

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Journey**

**Year 845**

* * *

They had been travelling, on horseback, for three days now.

They knew the dangers they could be facing here, of course. This mission was what they had been training for all these years. The group of warriors was prepared.

Their provisions would keep them fed for weeks if rationed properly, or so Captain Magath had told them. A fifth horse was carrying additional supplies, so they weren't really worried about starving before reaching the wall.

The Captain had trained and been with them from the very moment they had been chosen as potential warriors. They knew he'd set them up for success, but the mission was theirs to carry out and see through to the end.

_'This is the boundary of Paradis. After sunset, head North, and then act according to plan. On the night of the full moon, the Marleyan Army will anchor here. As for the recovery of the Founding Titan, act accordingly.' Captain Magath had informed them._

_'Understood!'_

_'Then... complete the mission, and everyone will return together, with the power of the Founding Titan.' the Captain told them before returning to the ship with the rest of the crew. Their mission was clear enough._

Contrary to home, the nights were safe, quiet and beautiful on Paradis. The dangerous Titans would be resting and immobile so they would work and travel during that time as well. You could never be careful enough however, so every day two of them would stand watch at their camp, one shift each, while the other two rested. The first day Annie and Bertholdt had taken on the role while Reiner and Marcel would take over the next day. This way, even if a Titan approached during daylight hours, one of them would be able to warn the others or shift if required.

Thus far, the island's countryside was eerily silent and peaceful. They had only encountered a single Titan, one that couldn't walk and had seemingly crawled from the shore towards the walls for years or even decades. They had decided it would be a waste of time and energy to get rid of it, seeing as it posed no threat to them or their mission.

They knew the size of the island but not the layout of the largely unexplored lands within, so they couldn't be sure when their objective, the first wall, would be reached.

* * *

They had established a routine at this point: Find a campsite with a secure place for their horses, construct a fireplace and ready anything they needed for the time of their stay while one or two of them scouted the area for any potential dangers. After eating, they would set up tents and sleep.

This worked admirably and they made good progress without any unexpected trouble.

"Are going to take over first watch today, Berthold?" Reiner asked his friend while stacking up the gathered tinder at their fireplace, a gridiron already secured above it for a hot dinner, tea and coffee later on.

His friend looked up from where he was placing the first poles for their tents,

"I don't know. Annie has been deciding that since we got here" he admitted shyly, shooting Reiner a sly grin. "it doesn't matter to me either way."

"Ha, alright... Just don't take over her shift again, I won't drag your horse with me another day because you fell asleep on it." he replied with a grin of his own.

"I... she just looked so peaceful in her sleep. I couldn't bring myself to wake her up... I'm sorry" Bertholdt answered a little while later, his cheeks colouring lightly.

Reiner snorted in amusement.

"Just don't let her hear you say that, you know she could beat us all up if she wanted to."

"Y-Yeah" came the strangled reply from his tall compatriot and Reiner had to turn away to hide his growing smile. His comrade's antics never failed to amuse.

Reiner really was grateful to be here with them. Without Bertholdt's help, he didn't think he'd have made it into the final selection for the attack or even for the inheritance of a Titan power. Someday, he would repay his debt to his best friend, Marcel and all the others in full.

"Speak of the devil..." Reiner said as he noticed Annie and Marcel coming out of the small nearby forest with stacks of wood in their arms. He waved at them when they neared the campsite.

"Anything unusual today?" he asked, already guessing that the answer wouldn't deviate from their previous wood-gathering expeditions. Their travels had gone smoothly and none of their area sweeps had revealed anything out of the ordinary. They didn't even spot any Titans in the distance since their first encounter.

"More wood than we could ever need?" came Marcel's joking reply "This should keep us going for the rest of the night. Let's start this fire, I'm starving already."

The four of them settled around the fireplace as Bertholdt started to ignite the wood.

Reiner looked at the other three while they were busy getting food or drinks from their packs.

Although their conversations were cordial and light in tone, some type of dread had slowly but surely started to settle over the four warriors, even if none of them wanted to admit it. Reiner could feel it in the air.

Marcel's bright personality, for instance, had receded and the boy looked more grim every day they were here. He still kept up with his friendly jabs and jokes but his smile didn't reach his eyes anymore.

Annie was the only one who seemed to be unfazed out of all of them. Reiner wasn't sure if that was just her being her usual self, keeping her emotions locked up or if she just didn't care.

It was probably a mix of the two, he guessed. Even Bertholdt had started to look more sad and dejected when he thought nobody was looking, and Reiner didn't like it at all.

* * *

After a week of constantly being on the move and several hours of travel that day they decided to stop again. Progress had been slow. The lamps they had used as a light source during their nightly travels had stopped working one by one, further slowing them down.

Reiner and Bertholdt had already set up a fireplace while Marcel and Annie were getting back with more firewood for the night yet again. Luckily, the untouched nature of Paradis left them plenty of wood to gather and fuel a warm fire during the colder, sunless hours. Their horses were bound to a couple of trees just past the campsite, nibbling at wild grass that was plentiful here on the island.

However, in their now well established perimeter check they never noticed the large, dirty, stone-like shoulder just barely peeking out of the ground just past their camp.

"As I thought, we couldn't make much progress by night." Marcel said while staring at the flames.

"My lights went out too, so it can't be helped" Reiner added, talking about their provided lamps which had run out far too quickly for his liking.

"It's a good thing we didn't run into any Titans." Bertholdt supplied. "Really, even if we destroy the wall, the king of the walls won't use the power of the Founding Titan, it seems."

"What are you saying Bertholdt?! Believe in the results of Marley's research!"

Marcel just continued staring at the dancing fire in front of him "That's right... We can't turn back. Soon we will..." but the boy trailed off, something was clearly bothering him.

Reiner's eyes widened a fraction. The weird atmosphere between them had only increased the closer they came to their destination. _'Are they having doubts?!'_

"What? It can't be... We're hesitating to kill the devils on this island? Have you forgotten what they've done? That they trampled on this world, and turned it into hell? Those descendants of the devil? Even now, they remain a threat to the world. We'll represent the world, and judge them. That is our duty, as the chosen warriors."

Bertholdt was looking down into the fire now as well, Marcel didn't meet his eyes and the group was silent for a long while. Only when the first rays of sun started painting the sky in red, did Marcel speak again. "Reiner... I'm sorry."

"What?" he said in confusion. _'Why is he apologising? For what?'_

"Really, you weren't supposed to have been chosen as a warrior. I... I intervened, so that the army would have a higher opinion of you and a lower opinion of my brother." Marcel admitted with a pained pitch to his voice.

"Huh?" Reiner wasn't expecting that and neither were the others it seemed, judging by the way three pairs of eyes were now staring at Marcel, who couldn't bring himself to look up.

"I... wanted to protect my brother. Reiner... I'm sorry" the boy said, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. Reiner just stared at his friend for a few seconds. He still didn't understand.

He stood up before addressing Marcel again. "Why... are you apologising?"

Any answer he might have gotten was interrupted by a rumbling coming from the ground behind him. A large arm, then an oversized head, a scrawny torso and finally legs pushed out of the dirt.

A Titan with muddy black hair got to it's knees and immediately turned to lock its hard, emotionless gaze and terrifying scowl on the boy in front of it. Reiner froze on the spot, his eyes glued to the massive body just ahead.

"IT'S A TITAN! **RUN!**" he vaguely heard Marcel yell from behind him. Reiner tried to tell his body to move but his joints had locked up, eyes wide at the monstrosity before him.

The Titan jumped forward incredibly fast, a giant hand shot out towards him, and he knew this would be the end. The monster was too close. By the time one of his friends had transformed he would already be in the jaws of this thing.

What Reiner didn't expect was a strong force suddenly shoving him aside, flinging him to the ground. He grit his teeth as he roughly hit the dirt, only to look up in horror as Marcel had already been snatched by the Titan. His friends only managed to look at him, fully aware what was about to happen, Marcel's eyes were wide open, helplessly looking at his friends as the Titan moved his body towards its mouth.

He could hear bones break under the Titans grip and managed to do little more than reach out to his saviour as the monster brought him in between its jaws an bit down. He heard the sickening crunch that followed and knew it should have been him.

Reiner pushed himself up then, turned, and ran. He vaguely heard voices behind him but in his traumatised state, he didn't make out their meaning.

"It's too late. There's nothing we can do now. RUN!" Bertholdt's panicked voice called out to Annie who stared on and seemed to be deciding whether to crush this Titan to a pulp or not. Bertholdt was already running after Reiner so she too turned on her heels and followed after them. The girl only looked back once and instantly regretted her decision.

The Titans scream followed them for what felt like hours, yet by the time the sun had fully revealed itself again there was only silence.


	3. Titans

**The Warriors' Journey**

**A/N:**_ For those wondering why I added the years – Years would have begun ticking upwards soon after this, so it was originally somewhat important. Didn't want to remove them out of respect for the unfinished rest of the story._

_Anyway, if you're still reading this, I want you to know that I appreciate it!_

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Titans**

**Year 845**

* * *

By the time Reiner's stamina had run out and he came to stop next to a lonely, large tree, Bertholdt and Annie were nowhere in sight. He was sweating and breathing heavily so he sank down to his knees and used the thick trunk to steady himself.

"Ah..." he let out as he looked back and couldn't find a trace of his friends. Reiner wasn't sure how long he had been running for but he couldn't make out any familiar landmarks or locations. Not like that was easy, even without a long sprint, on this forsaken island, in the first place.

By the time his breathing was beginning to steady again the full force of what had happened hit him. His mind was still spinning, everything had gone wrong, far too quickly.

"Bertholdt... Annie... Marcel..."

At the sound of his now dead friend's name coming out of his own mouth his face contorted in pained, horrified understanding. Reiner grabbed his head and went down into the grass face first while wailing incoherently.

_'He was eaten by a Titan... whilst protecting me... because of me...'_

_'Have they all been eaten? I don't remember anything. My mind has gone blank. What should I do? I shouldn't stay here... I'll be eaten too... I'll die here, today...'_

Reiner's pitiful thoughts were interrupted by a heavy kick to his midsection which forced all air out of his lungs and caused him to turn over from the force of the strike. "AAAAAAAAAAAH"

But any pain or similar feelings were quickly pushed aside when he noticed just who had attacked him. Annie and Bertholdt had caught up to him and both were still very much alive, if out of breath and sweating just as much as he was.

Annie was looking down at him with a mix of anger and disdain that seriously frightened Reiner, especially after the words that followed between heavy intakes of air. "...This is the first time... I've lost... to you... in long distance running."

Both of the other warriors were clearly extremely exhausted, confirming to Reiner that he had been running for a while. Bertholdt sank down to his knees and hands, trying to get his own heavy breathing under control again. Reiner was clutching his side, still looking up at Annie. The girl was the first to break eye contact, looking up at the crown of the lone tree instead.

"Just now.. if we had captured the Titan.. who ate Marcel.. we wouldn't have lost the Jaw Titan... But because the two of you ran away.. I got swept up in the flow of things..." Annie pointed out as she closed her eyes, a pained grimace spreading across her features. "Damn you... Marcel... is gone now..."

Reiner took a few moments to collect his thoughts again before meekly speaking up. "To think... that we would encounter a Titan in that sort of place..." Annie looked down at him again and confronted him again angrily. "Did you think that as long as we didn't approach the walls there wouldn't be any Titans? That's not always the case."

Bertholdt looked up at this and shifted his gaze onto Reiner, eyes filled with pain and sadness. "Didn't we learn... that not all Titans behave the same way?"

They had obviously been informed. Dealing with mindless Titans had been a big part of their training, yet reality was oh so different. Before Reiner could find a proper reply to his friend's question, Annie had turned on her heels. "We're done now... Let's go back..."

"What...?" Reiner couldn't understand what she was saying.

Annie looked back over her shoulder and a single, cold, blue eye zeroed in on him. "We will retrieve the Jaw Titan and go back. They should have transformed back into a human by now. Since we've lost Marcel's command, we can't retrieve the power of the Founding Titan any more. The mission has already failed."

With that definitive statement, Annie turned towards Bertholdt. "Even somewhere like here, a Titan could appear." The other boy wordlessly stood up and slowly started following the leading blonde, who was already starting to walk back the way they came.

Words Reiner's mother had uttered, just before they left for Paradis, came haunting him then and there. "_If it's you, I'm sure you'll be able to complete the mission. I'm sure your father is also praying for your success."_

"Wait..." Reiner called after the two other warriors, holding out his hand towards them pleadingly. "We can't... we can't go back yet! We have to continue with the mission!"

Bertholdt was silent at that but Annie glowered at him darkly. "For sure... You can't return like this. If you go back to Marley like this, you'll have the Armoured Titan taken away from you... and you'll be eaten by the next warrior. Not that that has anything to do with me."

"How can you be so sure that that will only happen to me?" Reiner asked in return and Annie was forced to pause while Bertholdt eyes widened a fraction.

"...What?"

"Will I be the only one to take responsibility for the fact that 'all three of us ran away'? Can you say with any certainty that you won't also be purged?" That realization stunned the other two but Reiner pressed on, still on his knees. "Plus... retrieving the Jaw Titan is not the best course of action. What If that person uses the Jaw Titan's power to escape? With it's speed, we could never capture it with our Titans alone. We'd need the Cart Titan."

"Surely they wouldn't be able to use it's power right away?!" Bertholdt asked nervously.

"**You were able to use the Colossal Titan's power right away!"** Reiner shot back. **"Anyway! If we use all our powers pursuing the Jaw Titan and end up getting eaten ourselves... or we return back to the anchored Marley ship with this failure on our hands... Either way, we're done for."**

A moment of silence passed between the three of them as Annie and Bertholdt were taking in Reiner's words, so he chose to continue, more calmly this time. "If we... want to return home... We need some sort of success... Without the Founding Titan... we can't go back now..."

Annie looked down, fighting down a whirlpool of emotions. "Why... If you'd shown even a hundredth of this ruthlessness back then, we wouldn't have lost the Jaw Titan... Marcel... And now you're threatening us? To cover your own back?"

Reiner could only stare at her for a few seconds before he managed to say something again.

"I don't know... I'm..."

Reiner was cut off by a foot hitting his chin, hard, before any more words could leave his mouth.

"ANNIE?" was Bertholdt's surprised reaction at the move but the girl in question had no intention of letting up this time. Her face was strained from pain and anger and she had every intent to let it out on the boy in front of her.

"**You explain this all to Magath! Tell him 'I take responsibility for everything'"** Annie demanded while continuing raining down kicks on her fellow warrior's face. **"'Honorary Marleyan'?! 'Chosen warrior'?! Marley, Eldia, fuck them all! They're all liars! Only looking out for themselves! And I'm the same! I need to get back home! You should have died back there! If you're feeling sorry, just die! Just die, covered in your sins!"**

With Reiner bloodied and beaten from repeatedly receiving a boot to the face, Annie finally let up, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. She turned to Bertholdt who was not looking too dissimilar with tears flowing down the tall boys cheeks. However he wasn't looking at her, his eyes fixed to the beaten form of Reiner, who had risen, blood dampening the blonde's hair and flowing freely out of a multitude of cuts.

Annie barely had enough time to turn back again before Reiner jumped towards her and tackled her to the ground. "Reiner... is dead..." he declared, while securing Annie in a choke hold.

She struggled in his choke-hold but he didn't relent. "_ng..._"

"If you say we need Marcel... Then I will become Marcel..."

Bertholdt weakly tried to stop his friends struggle then, as Annie didn't manage to free herself of Reiner's grip, her legs now unable to properly hit the boy holding her from behind.

"Enough... please... stop it..."

"This... This is the only way... for us to make it back home..." Reiner stated with grit teeth.

"Reiner... we got it... so... please..."

"_Let's all... go home... together_"


	4. That Day

**The Warriors' Journey**

**A/N:** _This will likely be the final chapter. I think this is a decent wrap-up for the 'prologue'._

* * *

**Chapter 4 – That day**

**Year 845**

* * *

The Titan let out a deafening roar, causing Bertholdt to cover his ears. Reiner besides him was holding on tightly to the rope they had placed around the Female Titan's neck. The blonde boys right eye was still swollen shut, in addition to several cuts and bruises caused by the beating he received.

The trio had been on the move for several hours now and the loud rumbling behind them was the reason why. Dozens, if not hundreds of frenzied Titans were pursuing them, evident by the large dust clouds being created in the wake of countless heavy Titan feet cracking the dirt and soil under them. The exercise was clearly taking a toll on Annie's endurance.

Bertholdt told Reiner as much just as he took a look over his shoulder at the horde still a good distance behind them."Reiner! Annie's stamina is low..."

"I KNOW!" Reiner glanced up at the Titan's visibly pained expression; He had noticed.

_'Shit, they're catching up... We still haven't reached the wall?! According to plan, what should have been done in rotation with the Jaw Titan, Annie is now doing all by herself...' _Reiner looked up to see the Female Type close it's sizeable eyes, exhaustion visible even on her Titan form.

_'She's at her limit... Even so, using the Armoured Titan here won't work...'_

Bertholdt's relieved shout broke his train of thought. "I can see it! There it is!"

And sure enough, just ahead, on the horizon, the massive monument was starting to appear.

"Annie! Switch now!"

* * *

The Armoured Titan brought them the rest of the way towards the gargantuan gate of the wall. He let Bertholdt off his left hand there, whilst still holding Annie on his neck with his right. The female shifter didn't have the strength left to hold on herself and he knew he'd have to protect her now.

_'There are more Titans than expected... We have to hurry... Bertholdt...we are counting on you!'_

Bertholdt nervously looked up the 50 meters of solid stone wall. The structure dwarfed his human form. "This is... Wall Maria... it's huge... to destroy something this big... Will I be able to do it?"

Reiner's Titan had moved back to give the the large Colossus the room it needed to break down the outer gate. Once that was done he could do the rest, finally get ting his friends out of harms way.

_'After destroying Wall Maria, we use the chaos of the titan invasion to infiltrate and mix in with the civilians. And the king of the walls... we observe King Fritz's actions and search for the Founding Titan. Everything deepens on the wall being destroyed... if this fails, we can't start the operation. We're counting on you, Bertholdt.'_

A blinding flash and thunderous bang told Reiner his friend had transformed. He turned his Titan form around to observe, just as the Colossal Titan grabbed the top of the wall and began looking over the edge into the town hidden behind the wall. The massive Titan raised its enormous foot and swung it back down towards the gate...

* * *

**'BOOOOOOOM'**

The humans of Shiganshina district felt the ground shake. Teal-green eyes shot open in surprise. He glanced at his blonde friend and the raven haired girl next to him. They looked just as stunned and lost as him. '_What the hell just happened? Was this an earthquake?'_

"Huh?"

They couldn't see the wall from here but he saw people pointing at something on top of it.

_'Has a cannon accidentally gone off?'_

His inquisitive friend rounded the corner first to see what was going on for himself but as he found the source of the disturbance his eyes widened in horror.

"Armin, what is it...?!" Eren Yeager asked his frozen friend but didn't get an answer.

He walked towards him and rounded the corner, raven hair and scarlet red not far behind him.

"H-Hey... What the heck are you looking at?!" Eren asked again. As he followed Armin's fearful gaze to the wall, is eyes shot wide open. Smoke was coming out from behind the wall and a gigantic hand had grabbed the top of it. '_Impossible!'_

"It can't be...!" was the first thing Armin Arlert could bring past his lips. His face filled with an expression of absolute terror. "Th-That Wall's 50 meters high...!"

Eren felt his heart hammering against his chest, his face just as shocked as Armin's.

"Ah..." he gasped. He knew what he was looking at. He had just talked with Mr. Hannes about this very thing happening. But it couldn't be. Not now, not here!

"...One of **THEM**..."

Slowly, a head, a huge, almost skinless head, rose over the top of the wall itself.

"**A TITAN!**"

_The Colossal Titan had arrived._

* * *

The boat was filled with to the brim people and yet there were still hundreds, maybe thousands, just outside the gate and countless more still inside Shiganshina district.

Eren sat in the back, Mikasa's familiar frame next to him, her face buried in her scarf.

There was no room for privacy on the overcrowded ferry but nobody cared enough to judge anyone else. They had all just witnessed hell. Eren himself was staring at nothing, the last moments of his mothers life burned deep into his mind while he tried to drown out the constant sound of battle and death still coming out of their former home town.

People all around them were crying or holding themselves in despair. For the first time in over a hundred years, humanity was forced to comprehend the horrors of being trapped in a cage by _them. _They could still hear the garrison of Wall Maria shouting by the inner gate. The soldiers manning the defences there clearly arguing about sealing off the town even though a slowly shrinking stream of people was still pouring out of the slaughterzone Shiganshina had turned into.

"It's too risky to leave it open any longer! Close the gate!"

"What are you talking about?! There are still a lot of people inside!"

"If this gate's destroyed, it won't just be one town that's invaded by Titans!"

"What's left of human territory will fall back to the next wall!"

"That's no reason to abandon the people who are right in front of us!"

A new group soldiers running out the gate added even more chaos to the hectic shouting and arguing. Their voices even more frantic than the already panicked soldier guarding the inner gate.

"Close the gate!"

"HURRY!"

"A titan is charging towards it!"

"STOP IT!"

Canon fire could now be heard on the ship and more people started sobbing uncontrollably as the sound of explosions and heavy, loud footsteps grew closer.

"What the hell is that thing?! Our weapons aren't working!"

Suddenly, the inner gate could be seen cracking as something collided with it. The stone was bending unnaturally, then broke outwards with the gate shattering completely as the large, bulky form of a titan broke through the reinforced gate like it was nothing more than a thin piece of wood.

**'WHOOOOOM'**

The impact sent a shock-wave across the ship while the ostensibly armoured Titan managed to halt it's momentum just outside the shattered gate. Looking unnervingly pleased with itself, the huge Titan opened it's mouth and let out a hissing wave of steam.

"The gate..."

"It broke through.. Wall Maria?!"

"It's all over..."

"Humanity... is gonna be devoured by the Titans again..."

The feeling of despair was now palpable in the air and Eren felt hot tears starting to form in his eyes, his mind again drifting back to his mother, causing his face to twist into an enraged grimace.

_'I'll never be able... to go home again.'_

_'Up to the end, all I could do was argue and be stubborn!'_

Tears were now streaming freely down his face as Eren angrily wiped at his eyes.

_'Mom's gone! I'm never gonna see her again...'_

_'Why is this happening to us?'_

_'Is it because humans are weak?'_

_'Is crying the only thing the weak can do?!'_

Eren felt his anger rising, he clenched his fists so hard it hurt but he didn't care. He stood up to get a better look at the white haired Titan that had destroyed the wall. The uninterested way the Titan was just standing there, apparently content with what it had just done, caused Eren to grit his teeth as hot, furious resolve flared up within him.

"I'm gonna destroy them all" he ground between grit teeth, his breathing growing ragged and heavy. The girl next to him looked up at him, her wide eyes filling with tears at seeing the tortured state he was in. She remained quiet, not sure what, if anything, there was to say.

Mikasa only knew she could not loose any more of her family. She would protect and if necessary save Eren, just like he had saved her.

"Every last one... of those animals... that's on this Earth!"

_That day, the human race remembered... the terror... of being dominated by **Them**..._

* * *

Annie Leonhart slowly opened her eyes to an unfamiliar room. She vaguely recalled what had happened after she had come out of her Titan. Bertholdt has broken down the wall, Reiner had almost been caught by the chasing mass of Titans, then carried her and Bertholdt to the top of the wall and left them there while he descended on the other side to break open the inner gate. She had ultimately slipped into unconsciousness atop the wall and had apparently been carried to where she was laying now.

She sat up slowly and took in her surroundings. Reiner and Bertholdt were sitting on a mattress besides her, the same kind she was laying on now. In fact, they were in a building with multiple rows of makeshift beds, most of them filled with people, some alone, some with companions or kids and some were still kids themselves, just like they were. This had to be some type of refugee centre, meaning their attack had been a success.

She turned her head towards the two boys next to her. "...Where are we?"

"We're inside Wall Rose." Reiner replied simply, confirming her suspicions.

Reiner's wounds had healed by now but the boy still looked dejected and didn't dare meet Annie's eyes. When nobody decided to speak they were left to listen to the murmurs from the dozens of civilians around them.

Reiner tried to muster some courage. "Annie... Bertholdt..." he began, voice already faltering. The other two warriors focused on him and he quickly wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders, drawing the trio's heads together.

"**I'm sorry!** Marcel... I... will become a true warrior."

A few rows over another trio of kids, having just lost their homes, sat together in silence, comforted only by the presence of each other.


End file.
